The Gwen and Jules Knapp Center for Biomedical Discovery at the University of Chicago’s Hyde Park Campus is a new 330,760-sq-ft research building. Photo: NICK MERRICK Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards More than half of it is dedicated to The Institute for Molecular Pediatric Sciences, which focuses on improving children’s health through team research on how genes influence disease. The remainder is the new headquarters of the University of Chicago Cancer Research Center and houses the Ludwig Center, which studies how cancer spreads. Key Players Owner: University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago General Contractor: Turner Construction Co.,
The heavily wooded site for a new $6- million nature center for the Bolingbrook (Ill.) Park District influenced the building’s design to be similar to a tree house. The design places the nature center between two large oaks with decks around both trees, creating a treehouse feeling. Photo: PAUL SCHLISMANN PHOTOGRAPHY Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards The project is pursuing LEED Platinum certification and has currently achieved LEED Gold through the initial design submittal. Project highlights include: two early-education classrooms, two multi-use rooms, staff offices and interpretive displays; a green roof; constructed wetlands for black water cleansing;
This $45-million, 65,000-sq-ft, four-story museum and education facility in Skokie, Ill., is the largest center in the Midwest dedicated to preserving the memories of those lost in the Holocaust and to teaching current generations about their role in combating intolerance and genocide in today’s world. Photo: COURTESY OF RONALD GALL, OWNER SERVICES GROUP, INC. Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards It consists of permanent and temporary exhibition spaces, a youth exhibition space, art gallery, auditorium, “reflection” space, classrooms, research library, and museum offices. Its design presents two related concepts: the reality of the Holocaust to the younger generations
Having endured 83 years of constant traffic and harsh winter weather, the Jackson Avenue Bridge in downtown Chicago was nearing structural failure. Photo: COURTESY OF ABSTRACT PHOTOGRAPHY Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards The $11.5-million Jackson Avenue Bridge Reconstruction Project began with demolition of the existing structure and pavement. New foundations, piers, abutments, bridge superstructure, roadway, and sidewalks were built. The project also included restoration of the bridge’s architectural features, as well as installation of new precast balustrades, ornamental lighting, and new stairs to the Metra platform below. More than 2,000 cu yd of concrete, 190 tons of
The Grove on Kickapoo Creek, a new 460+ acre development on the southeast side of Bloomington, Ill., features more than 88 acres of passive parklands, a 20-acre active park, four miles of trails, a 15-acre site for an elementary school currently under construction, and a proposed daycare. Photo: COURTESY OF FARNSWORTH GROUP Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards The centerpiece is the restoration of the existing stream into an 88-acre corridor serving multiple purposes: nature preserve, education, recreation, aesthetic enhancement, habitat restoration and detention. Key Players Owner: City of Bloomington, Ill. General Contractor: Stark Excavating, Bloomington, Ill. Design
After 13 in. of rain fell on south-central Wisconsin in three days during early June, 2008, an embankment along Lake Delton gave way, unleashing a raging torrent of water that drained the 600-million-gallon lake dry in just a few hours. Photo: JOE OLIVA Reconstruction of CTH A and Refilling of Lake Delton Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards Sauk County Hwy. A, which ran atop the failed embankment, was also washed away in the flood. Tourism brings 1.5 million visitors and an estimated $1-billion to the Wisconsin Dells area each year. With the 2008 summer tourist season washed
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